New Jersey Fishing Reports

Ice continued to form up on the lake, said Jeff from FISH307.com in Lake George. The main coves were all quite fishable, and Harris Bay was locked in with 8 inches, and Basin Bay with 5 to 6 inches. Saw Mill Bay held 4 to 7 inches, and Huddle Bay was covered with 5 inches. All of those bays should form even more ice by the weekend. All the coves gave up yellow perch, pickerel and northern pike, and the perch hit Caty jigs, Hali jigs and Swedish Pimples. Both perch and pickerel were attacking Buckshot spoons jigged just off the bottom. Pike were also chasing down live suckers or very large shiners fished right off the bottom. Landlocked salmon were sometimes found just under the ice, and rosy reds and icicles were best baits.

Salmon River

Steelhead fishing was super all week, said Suzanne from All Seasons Sports in Pulaski. But water was let out early last week, tentatively pushing the river to 1,800 CFS until Friday, giving only drift boaters a viable option until the weekend. Bank anglers could try to fish the feeder streams, where the steelies might enter to get out of the rushing current, and both egg sacks and stonefly nymphs will get a strike. Once the waters subside, the fishing should be prime time, because average days early in the week produced 6 to 10 fish per angler, with no real crowds to battle on the banks.

PENNSYLVANIA

The Delaware River was pretty much ice-free, said Bruce at Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle in Philadelphia. Tullytown Cove was offering some better crappie catches for anglers dunking wax worms, and Dredge Harbor was the place to reel in yellow perch on jigs tipped with fathead minnows. Walleye were biting in the Frenchtown Stretch, mostly on small crank baits and jigs tipped with minnows, fished on the bottom. Levittown Lake and Lake Luxemborg were stocked with trout last week and were now hot spots. Anglers looking for smallmouth bass in the Big D could find their quarry around the power plant in Trenton, because the smallies were actively feeding in the warm-water discharge.

NEW JERSEY

North Jersey

Lots of anglers were still looking for tip-ups and ice fishing gear, despite the warm spell, said Adrian fromFairfield Fishing Tackle in Montville. He suspected they were heading to the shallower lakes, such as Lake Musconetcong, that should still hold safe ice in the shallow coves. Local rivers were running high, and anglers said the Pequest was holding rainbow trout downstream from the hatchery.

Lake Hopatcong was reportedly unsafe and virtually un-ice-fishable by the weekend, said Dom of Ramsey Outdoor in Paramus. But ice anglers were still able to safely and effectively drill holes on smaller ponds, such as the ones at Stokes State Forest and High Point State Park. High Point put out fine largemouth bass action, as well as crappie and yellow perch, and live shiners were best.

The only fishable ice on the lake during the weekend was in the cove in front of the shop, said Laurie at Dow’s Boat Rentals in Lake Hopatcong. A mix of yellow perch and chain pickerel comprised catches, taken mainly on live shiners and small jigs. The Windlass area had open-water parts and was unsafe, and Laurie’s Cove was covered with about 4 inches of ice that might be totally unsafe by this coming weekend. The only thing ice anglers could hope for were freezing nights to keep the ice hard and to wait out the weekend until the next cold spell.

Smaller ponds attracted ice anglers, said Al from Meltzer’s Sporting Goods in Garfield. The Highland Lakes offered 5 to 6 inches of ice that produced excellent catches of yellow perch on Kastmasters tipped with meal worms, and one customer caught 30 perch on a day out. Lake Musconetcong was still ice-fishable, and the shallow waters turned up a mixed bag of perch, pickerel and panfish. Green Turtle Pond was also a thick-ice spot, with perch and trout on tap for hole-drillers. Trout anglers were targeting the Blairstown section of the Paulinskill River to find 2- to 4-pound, stocker rainbows. The big ‘bows were keying in on salmon eggs and Power Baits.

The South Branch of the Raritan River was doling out a good number of trout, said Chris from Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop. Small nymphs drifted slowly through the runs were tricking stocker holdovers pushing the 4-pound mark. Try tossing size-14 Hare’s Ear Nymphs, and have the patience to work a hole many times, before moving on to the next one, because the trout might refuse to strike until the nymph is presented directly in front of their noses.

Consistent trout action could be had at the Pequest River, said Ron at Ray’s Sport Shop in North Plainfield. Small, size-14 stonefly patterns worked for one angler who pulled out five trout between 12 and 14 inches. The South Branch of the Raritan River was ice-free along the edges, affording bank anglers better access to fly cast than before. Be sure to stop by the shop’s Fly Tying Demo from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Central Jersey

Trout anglers were heading north to find small, spring-fed streams to do their angling, said Jim at Efinger Sporting Goods in Bound Brook. Pickerel anglers were pleased with the action in the D&R Canal, where brightly colored spinner baits in chartreuse or orange got whacked by pickerel to 2 pounds. But that action was only hot when the waters were clear. On muddy water days the pickerel shut down, so plan your day accordingly.

The warmer weather got trout anglers out and about, said Andrew from L&H Woods & Water in Wall. The upper stretches of the Manasquan River, near the fishing access by the train tracks specifically, were on fire for the salmonids. Size-8, white Wooly Buggers were fooling dozens of trout in the area. Even farther up, the Squankum Falls and Route 195 Bridge areas were heavily loaded with trout. Spring Lake also had some trout activity stirring about, and Power Baits worked best to hook the fish from the banks. Those waters also dished up a formidable appearance of crappies feeding on live killies near the west end pocket of the lake.

Big, breeder, holdover trout were sometimes reeled in from the conservation stretch of the Toms River, said Dennis at Murphy’s Hook House in the town of Toms River. Most of the catches were large brook trout taking nightcrawlers and small nymphs. Pickerel anglers were finding luck on live shiners at the Trilco stretch of the river.

South Jersey

Chain pickerel anglers were plucking the toothy predators out of Forked River, said Dick from L&H Woods & Water in Waretown. Most anglers were dunking live shiners from the banks and doing a bit of catch and release. Any of the local ponds off Exit 69 on the Parkway should hold pickerel.

A surprising smallmouth bass fishery opened up in the Trenton area of the Delaware River, said Eric from Harry’s Army and Navy of Robbinsville. Smallies to 5 pounds were crushing live shiners during the daytime, and one customer said catfishing was on a tear in that particular area as well, noting that bank anglers dunking shrimp were catching catties every 10 minutes, bringing in 2- to 4-pounders on average, but also beaching fish in the 7- to 9-pound class. When the waters are clear, Gropp’s Lake was the place for quality catches of crappie, and the Assunpink Lakes, all ice-free, were producing largemouth bass on live shiners.

The Delaware River sparked up again with activity, said Carl of the Sportsmen’s Center in Bordentown. The power plant area was serving up smallmouth and largemouth bass on live shiners, and upriver in the Lambertville stretch, walleye could be found grabbing jigs tipped with shiners. The Assunpink WMA lakes were all open water once again, and bank anglers there could try for largemouth bass and yellow perch by sending live shiners to the bottom, or by casting a slip-float bobber rig with a 3-foot leader.

With sunny, 60-degree days moving in, all the local waters were officially iceless, said Steve from Blackwater Sports Center in Vineland, giving bank anglers opportunities for largemouth bass catches. Parvin Lake and Rainbow Lake were homes to 1- to 2-pound bass that smacked Rat-L-Traps and jerk baits. Chain pickerel were also cooperative, especially at Malaga Lake, where live shiners were the main fare. Lake temperatures generally climbed a bit, and that should keep a chew going on through the weekend. Trout anglers were finding the Maurice River a good spot to creel up a limit, and Power Bait was working to fool the fish.

Warmer weather finally got anglers out on the Maurice River, said Ki from Huck’s Place in Millville. White perch continued to highlight catches in the river, with frozen grass shrimp working to find the scrappy fighters during high tides. Catfish began to warm up to the feed, and any stink bait dropped to the bottom should get you into a whiskerface.